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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It weighs about as much as a medium-sized bowling ball.

“I call it the MinuteMan system," said Andrew Bloomfield, 20, the University of Florida Mechanical Engineering student who created the “MinuteMan” Shield system.

It’s about the size of a textbook, and Bloomfield said it works like this. You just hit a lever, and the whole thing unfolds.

Bloomfield took FOX 35 cameras to a secluded area of the Ocala National Forest, away from people, to demonstrate a ballistics test on a plate of steel that would be part of the shield. Bloomfield shot his rifle at the metal plate.

Does it really work? Bloomfield said, "It does. No penetration."

The portable shield is the invention of Bloomfield. He was horrified by the Pulse attack, and set out to create a collapsible device to protect people from active shooters. "To save lives,” he explained. “That's what the whole thing's been about from day one."

He made a metal prototype by just tinkering away at home. His goal is to turn it into a lighter, more durable device, that you can pull out in public places at a moment's notice. Kind of like a fire extinguisher.

"People are getting attacked and hurt around the world, almost on a consistent basis, and I really want it to stop,” he explained.

Bloomfield is working on securing a patient for the device. A full time student, part-time inventor, trying to do his part to shield people from the shootings.